Can You Prune Lavender Bushes Way Back in Late Winter?

Pruning Season

• Lavender blooms every year on new green growth. Unpruned bushes can become overcrowded and messy. Pruning can be done in the early fall or early spring, or both. Pruning promotes healthy growth and increases flower spikes. Pruning should only be done when there is new green growth on the plant. If you prune in the late winter when there is no new growth and you're only pruning old growth, you may kill your lavender.

Pruning Technique

• If you prune in the spring, cut the plant back to two-thirds its size, leaving 2 or 3 inches of green growth above the old woody stems. You can prune before or after spring flowering, but you might get more flowers if you prune before flowers bloom in the spring. For fall pruning, wait until any late-summer flowers are spent. Cut green growth back so that 1 or 2 inches of green remain above the woody stems. Use a sharp sickle or pruning shears for this task.

Harvesting

• You may want to harvest your lavender for sachets or oil. In this case, your harvesting will serve as pruning, and you'll likely be pruning in the late spring or early summer. Colorado State University recommends harvesting in the morning before oils have evaporated from the flower spikes. Harvest when at least half of the flower buds are opened, and bundle stems in groups of 50 to 100. Rubber bands are recommended for bundling, since they'll contract as the stems dry.

Growing Tips

• Lavender is considered a drought-tolerant plant, but if you're harvesting for oil or sachets, supplemental water will help with productivity. Water young plants weekly until they are established. Every couple of months should be adequate once they are mature; make sure roots don't dry out in the winter. Once buds begin to form, you can increase watering to a few times a week until harvest.